Recently, in the interest of conserving natural resources and preventing environmental pollution, there has been a call for the promotion of recycling and the reduction of waste. The movement toward conservation and environmental protection has found growing acceptance among consumers. Thus, articles such as packaging trays for perishable foods, milk cartons, PET bottles and the like are collected for recycling at various locations, including recycling depositories at supermarkets, etc.
There is, of course, a cost associated with the collection and reuse of these resources, and the cost is an impediment to the promotion of recycling. For instance, a PET bottle cannot be re-used unless its cap has been removed and it has been washed thoroughly. Clear glass bottles need to be separated from colored glass bottles, the latter need to be classified according to color. It is not possible to depend upon consumers' good intentions to accomplish cleaning and classification of recyclable articles, and therefore in practice it is necessary to repeat these operations before the articles are re-used.
Additional costs are incurred in transportation of the articles from collection points to recycling centers. PET bottles and glass bottles are especially bulky and consequently costly to transport. Still further costs are incurred in other operations necessary to return the collected items to usable condition.
In the past, the costs of recycling have been borne for the most part by local governments. If companies trading in the articles being recycled were to be called upon to bear the cost of recycling, the costs of the products to consumers would greatly increase. Moreover, if small and medium-sized companies were required to bear recycling costs, they would be at a serious disadvantage in competing with larger companies.